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The Rebellyon

Amanda Palmer (probably my favorite musician, artists, what have you) has a disagreement with the managers of Roadrunner Records, her then point of contact for making music. The short version of a long story is that for her solo album entitled Who Killed Amanda Palmer? the manager of Roadrunner Records (who also has bands such as Kiss, Korn, Theory of a Deadman, and Nickleback) told her that the video for “Leeds United” would need to be altered because her stomach looked fat. He said according to Palmer, “i’m a guy, amanda. i understand what people like.” The longer version of these events was posted on her blog which is linked here. Amazingly enough, I do believe this is the body he said people would not like:

She proclaimed a return to love the belly, although in her own vanity she was frequently self-conscious of it. After posting a photograph of her belly, many of her fans felt inclined to follow in her actions. At one point there was a website devoted to those pictures (which I can’t happen to find now), but they have been collectively amassed and put on various sites. There have been discussions about how the body should be loved as it is. An interesting take of the Rebellyon is discussed here.

I am actually really saddened by the fact that this occurred because by one man’s standards, the body was judged as if by societal judgement. The amazing thing is that her fan base provided the grounds for substantial protest against the record company (which she was finally able to drop after harsh criticisms). Her body has been put on display by the mediums she works in and it is evident there is a place for politics in this space, but was it fair for the manager to assert the ideal body that her audience would like?

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2 Responses

I’m glad that she turned the manager’s comment into something her fans could protest against. It’s good to hear that people spoke out against it! Also, it’s sickening he would criticize a body as though he is the voice of everyone’s taste. I’m not surprised, though. *SIGH*

i feel the issue of looking a certain way and singing some how go hand in hand. I love when Adele says that she makes music for the ears and not the eyes. But I think a lot of musicians now-a-days would have a problem with this because they look great but sound terrible. There lyrics make no sense and the overall composition could have been done better by my five year old cousin. Some songs are just so bad but it doesn’t matter because there outfit is nice, they are in shape, and they put on a good show. I watch American Idol and I love Phillip Phillips and I am happy about the fact that he doesn’t feel the need to change his appearance to fit society. But I must admit that if it was a women that refused to change her look things might not have turned out nicely for her. Music needs to be just about that the music and not how many different outfits you can change into.